This FKEY copies styled text from a window to the clipboard.
With it, you can copy the uneditable text from error dialogs, copy from SimpleText read-only documents, or copy columns of text. I often use it in standard Save dialogs, to copy one of the dimmed file names as a basis for the name of the new file.

Installation

The FKEY comes in a font suitcase. You can install it simply by dropping the suitcase into your Fonts folder.

Compatibility

Although Text Capture FKEY has not been updated since 1995, it is compatible with Mac OS 9.0.4, and I expect that it will continue to work with Mac OS 9.1. However, Apple does not support FKEYs in Mac OS X.

In some contexts, Text Capture FKEY doesn't work. That is, there is no error message, it just doesn't put any text on the clipboard. This is because some applications use a programming technique called offscreen drawing, which prevents Text Capture FKEY from "seeing" the text as it's drawn. This programming technique has become more popular, so in general, Text Capture FKEY is more likely to work with old applications than with new or recently-updated applications.